Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Self-driving car development moves to the fast lane, WSJ reportsMajor auto makers are directing their efforts to develop cars that drive themselves out of the labs and into the r production lane, after years of low-profile experimentation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Auto industry executives used the podium offered by the biennial Frankfurt auto show to deliver that message in a variety of ways, responding in part to software giant Google's (GOOG) experiments with autonomous driving that over the past three years have stolen some of the thunder of the automotive establishment.Reference Link

News For GOOG;DDAIF;CTTAY;IBM;NSANY;VLKAY;GM;TRW From The Last 14 Days

IBM revenues from strategic imperatives up more than 20% year-to-dateRevenues from the company’s strategic imperatives --- cloud, analytics, and engagement --- increased more than 20% year-to-date, more than 30% adjusting for currency and the divested System x business. Total cloud revenues increased more than 50%, more than 70% adjusting for currency and the divested System x business year-to-date, and is $8.7B over the last 12 months, adjusted for the divested System x business. The annual run rate for cloud delivered as a service -- a subset of the total cloud revenue -- increased to $4.5B from $2.8B in the second quarter of 2014. Revenues from business analytics increased more than 10%, more than 20% adjusting for currency, year-to-date. Revenues from mobile more than quadrupled, and social revenues increased more than 30%, more than 40% adjusting for currency, both year-to-date.

IBM reports Q2 revenues from the Software segment were doen 10%Revenues from the Software segment were down 10% to $5.8B, down 3% adjusting for currency compared with the second quarter of 2014. Revenues from IBM’s key middleware products, which include WebSphere, Information Management, Tivoli, Workforce Solutions and Rational products, were $4B, down 7%, flat adjusting for currency, year-to-year. Operating systems revenues of $0.4B were down 17% percent, down 9% percent adjusting for currency year-to-year.

IBM reports Q2 Global Technology Services revenues down 10%Global Technology Services segment revenues were down 10% percent, up 1% percent adjusting for currency and the divested System x business, to $8.1B. Global Business Services segment revenues were down 12%, down 3 percent adjusting for currency, to $4.3B. The estimated services backlog as of June 30 was $122B, up more than 1% year-to-year adjusting for currency.

IBM July weekly volatility elevated into Q2 and outlook IBM July weekly call option implied volatility is at 48, August is at 23, September is at 19 compared to its 52-week range of 12 to 28, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q2 results on July 20.

HERE offering free HD map data for automated vehicle testsHERE, a Nokia (NOK) company, announced it is making high-definition mapping data of sections of public roads in four countries available to all automotive companies to support their highly automated vehicle initiatives. HERE is offering HD mapping data of specific stretches of open road in Silicon Valley and Michigan in the United States, as well as in France and Germany, to all carmakers and automotive suppliers for test purposes. HERE plans to offer data for Japan too later this year. HERE is currently working with more than 10 "leading automotive companies" on automated driving projects, the company said. Publicly traded automakers include Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

YouTube advertisers surge 40% over past year, FT reportsThe number of advertisers on Google's YouTube has increased more than 40% in the past year, the Financial Times reports. YouTube said that advertisers from the top 100 brands, ranked by Interbrand, were spending 60% more on advertising than last year, the report says. The website does not disclose revenue figures, but certain data show that it is benefiting from a surge in demand for digital video advertising as millennials spend more time on the site, the report says. Reference Link